Adina Howard Digs Megan Thee Stallion & SZA's "Freaky Girls"

The words from this interview were an excerpt from "Making Adina Howard 20 The Podcast Series." You can hear the entire episode by clicking the following link:

Written by GEZUS ZAIRE for WINNERS ONLY

In November of last year, Megan Thee Stallion released her acclaimed "Good News" album that reached number two on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was listed as one of the top 50 albums of 2020 in many publications such as Rolling Stone, Complex, Los Angeles Times and Billboard Magazine.

One of the songs on the 17-track LP entitled "Freaky Girls" features nine-time Grammy nominee SZA. The song is a modern day version of one of 1995's biggest hits "Freak Like Me" by Adina Howard. "Freak Like Me" was a platinum selling record that is often credited for paving the way for artists like Megan Thee Stallion, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Kelly Rowland and Cardi B. to be able to make sexually bold songs and receive mainstream airplay with more acceptance than women of previous generations.

As a personal friend and documentarian of Adina Howard, I hopped on the phone and recorded a podcast shortly after I heard the record and here is the written version of the part of the conversation where we discussed "Freaky Girls" by Megan Thee Stallion featuring SZA.

Gezus Zaire: We talked about people always being able to connect and be interested in you and I know that doesn't always matter to you but in putting out this podcast I was thinking that I may have to introduce you to a new audience. I listen to a lot of new music and a lot of it is old so sometimes I might have to catch up to the newer things because I deep dive into old stuff.

I checked out Megan thee Stallion because she's like everywhere. Everywhere! I saw she had a song with SZA and I like SZA. I think she's pretty dope, so I was like, let me check this song out and I was like, "Hey this sounds familiar ..." Then I was like, "Hey this is cool. They're paying homage in their own way."

I didn't know if you had heard it or not because we don't always talk about music ... just [share] your opinions of the song and when you heard it, what did you think about it?

Adina Howard: I like it. I'm very proud of the young ladies because at the end of the day, they made it their own. The whole point and purpose of "Freak Like Me" in '95 was to express myself in a manner that brought about my bold stance in being a sexual woman. I think that it's great that young ladies in 2020 and 2021 and so on can take that song and get something from it. I'm grateful that the seed that I had sewn - and I can't say I, because I didn't do it by myself - that we had sewn back in 1995 is still blooming today. People are still able to get something from it today. They're still able to eat ripe fruit from it today and produce amazing music. I'm grateful they were able to put their interpretation on it and just continue to keep my name out there, my legacy and what I've been able to do and just continue to just spread it throughout the world.

But that was the whole point in coming out in '95 anyway. It was for young women like SZA and Megan Thee Stallion to embrace their sexuality. Now, I wouldn't do it the way they were doing it, but of course that was back in 1995, so I couldn't, but the way they're doing it now, my hats off to them because they are comfortable in their own skin. I do believe that they're choosing to be the artists that they have become versus it being forced upon them.

One of the things that I've notice and I tell young ladies as well as young girls that want to get in this industry - especially those of us with brown skin, [is] you don't always have to be sexual. I have noticed that in urban music when it comes to us, specifically women, they're always wanting to sexualize us. It has become very difficult for the young chocolate girls and women that want to do music and they want to do it differently. They're always being pushed to sexualize their image and I don't think it's fair.

I think it should be a choice whether they choose to go that route or not. For those who choose to do it, my hats off to them and run with it. Just continue to pass the baton to those who want to pick it up.